Please note that the summaries of news items posted on this page do not necessarily represent the official positions of CSU-ERFA or its affiliates.  Links contained within the summaries may take you to the original news sources.  CSU-ERFA is not responsible for the content of linked articles and cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of those articles.

June 2009

Don't play too much golf.  Two rounds a day are plenty.  ~Harry Vardon

According to an abc.com report on June 27, 2009, the National Institute of Health has determined that a diet high in saturated fats, particularly those from meat and dairy products leads to a significant increase in the the risk of contracting pancreatic cancer. _______________________ The California State Bar Association recently updated and reprinted its popular guide Seniors and the Law: A Guide for Maturing Californians.  A pdf version of the 2009 edition is available online. _______________________ New Members:  We extend a hearty welcome to Fay W. Arnold (Dominguez Hills); Pamela S. Reuling and Richard  E. Bozak (East Bay); Marshelle Thobaben (Humboldt); Ruth E. Knudson (Long Beach); Susan Waldman (San Francisco); David E. Schwarz (San Jose); and Larry L. Erickson (San Luis Obispo). _______________________ The New York Times reported on June 25, 2009 that the use of a faulty database by health insurance companies has cost patients billions of dollars in extra out-of-pocket expenses when they used out-of-network healthcare providers.  The flawed database was operated by a subsidiary of United Health Care Group, a major health insurer. _______________________ In Memoriam:  We note with regret the passing of CSU-ERFA members James F. Lindsey (Chico); Richard H. Lindley and Flora L. Olsen (Fullerton); Ke Ting Hsia (Los Angeles); Ruth H. Afflack (Long Beach); Thomas A. Burdick, Joseph P. Tassoney, and Frank A. Tennant (Pomona); and John H. Dirks and Lois P. Kessler (San Diego). _______________________

A June 11, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times reports that CVS and Longs drugs stores in California have agreed to give customers a $2 coupon if they find expired products on the stores shelves. This is part of a settlement with the California Attorney General's Office, which had alleged that the chains had allowed baby formula, dairy products, and over-the-counter drugs to remain on their shelves long after their expiration dates. As part of the settlement, CVSCaremark will pay $975,000 in civil penalties, attorney fees and costs. _______________________ CNET News reported on June 9, 2009 that Microsoft Corporation and Adobe have released patches to fix security vulnerabilities in a number of Microsoft programs and in Adobe Acrobat® and Adobe Reader®.  The vulnerabilities affect a number of Microsoft operating systems, Microsoft Office programs running on Macs, and recent versions of Adobe Acrobat and Reader. Users of these programs should update to the latest versions.  The Adobe programs can updated by opening the program, clicking on the "help" menu and selecting "check for updates."  The Microsoft programs can be updated by using the Windows Updater (Start ® Help and Support ® Windows Update).

May 2009

Q. How many retirees does it take to change a light bulb? A. Only one, but it might take him or her two or three days. ~Author unknown.

Bloomberg News reported on May 28, 2009 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing to limit dosages for acetaminophen and combinations of drugs containing acetaminophen owing to concerns about serious incidents of liver damage from accidental overdoses. If the new rules are adopted, the immediate-release tablet strength will be reduced to no more than 325 milligrams from the current 500 milligrams and the single adult dose would be reduced to 650 milligrams, from 1,000 milligrams.  The new rules, if adopted, also would reduce the maximum daily dose of all acetaminophen to 3,250 milligrams from 4,000 milligrams. Acetaminophen is an over-the counter drug sold under the Tylenol® brand name and as a generic.  It also is a common ingredient in many other over-the-counter and prescription drugs including Vicodin. _______________________ The California Department of Health announced on May 20, 2009 that they had assessed fourteen $25,000 administrative penalties against thirteen California hospitals for violations that caused or were likely to cause serious injury or death to patients. Six of the hospitals on the list had received previous administrative penalties. _______________________

The Orange County Register posted a story on May 11, 2009 that underscores the deceptive nature of some "free" credit report offers.  One company that heavily advertises its "free" credit report services on television, freecreditreport.com, actually bills your credit card $14.95 per month if you do not cancel within seven days of your initial order. The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers that there is only one website, annualcreditreport.com, that you can use to obtain copies of your credit report free from each of the major credit bureaus once every 12 months.

April 2009

Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.  ~Herbert Asquith

The CSU-ERFA State Council voted at its April 25, 2009 meeting to oppose California Proposition 1A.  After much spirited debate on the issue, the argument that this measure was likely to harm the California State University system carried the day. _______________________ The Sacramento Bee reported in its April 19, 2009 issue that top CalPERS and CalSTRS managers received millions in bonuses recently despite poor investment results this past year. The Chief Investment Officer for CalPERS received a bonus of $208,677 in addition to his $555,360 salary, while the Chief Investment Officer for CalSTRS received a $322,953 bonus in addition to a $330,000 salary. _______________________ The San Francisco Chronicle reported in its April 18, 2009 issue that the California Second District Court of Appeal has ruled that the widow of a judge who died from lung cancer can sue Blue Cross for denying the judge a potentially life-saving treatment.  Blue Cross ruled that the treatment was experimental, and failed to inform the patient of his right to an independent review of the denial. The case is important because Blue Cross did not insure the patient directly.  Instead, it was acting as the administrator of a CalPERS health plan. _______________________ A Wall Street Journal article by Jane Zhang and Vanessa Fuhrmans reports that members of Medicare Advantage plans are likely to see increases in premiums next year as the Obama Administration moves to cut payments to these plans by approximately 5%.  However with new consumer protections and tightened rules also going into effect, these plans are expected to remain an attractive alternative to traditional Medicare. In addition, competition between insurers who offer these plans is likely to keep cost increases down according to the article. _______________________

The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development has released its fourth report on Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.  The report, which can be downloaded from our website, compares expected and observed mortality rates for both hospitals and surgeons throughout California.  A relatively small number of hospitals and surgeons had results that were better than expected statistically, while a few hospitals and surgeons had worse than expected results. The data in this report cover the years 2005-2006. _______________________ New Withholding Rates for CalPERS Pensions.  Beginning April 1, 2009 withholding rates were lowered for CalPERS pension payments to comply with new IRS regulations.  These were instituted as a result of federal economic stimulus legislation that provided a $400 tax credit for individuals and an $800 tax credit for families. However, the tax credits only apply to "earned income."  Pension payments are not considered "earned income."  As a result, the tax obligation for your pension income has not changed; and, you may find that too little has been withheld from your CalPERS payments to cover your income tax liability at the end of the year.  Under some circumstances this could result in a penalty for under withholding. To avoid such a penalty you can voluntarily increase your withholding by filing a new Form W-4P with CalPERS, or by increasing your quarterly estimated tax payments (if you pay estimated tax). _______________________

March 2009

February 2009

January 2009

One of the problems of retirement is that it gives you more time to read about the problems of retirement. ~Author unknown.

A Santa Monica CPA, Paul McCauley, has proposed an initiative measure to be submitted to the voters of California that, if enacted, would amend the California State Constitution to eliminate certain constitutional restrictions on renegotiating public employee pension contracts.  The amendment, if approved, would allow vested pension benefits to be reduced for existing and prospective public-sector retirees.  The operative section of the proposed Constitutional Amendment follows: SECTION 3, CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1, SEC.9 is amended to read: SEC. 9. A bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts may not be passed, except that public-employee pension contracts may be renegotiated, including reducing vested benefits for existing and prospective retirees, for the limited purposes enumerated hereinafter. 1. To enable the state government, local governments and taxing districts to meet the essential public services of fire and police protection, public health, education and prisons. 2. To enable California and its political subdivisions to meet long-term public investment needs to provide for fire and police protection, public health, education, prisons, transportation, and energy needs as well as to make an urgent response to global warming effects on the environment. It is unlikely that this proposed Constitutional Amendment would pass legal challenges.  Nevertheless, CSU-ERFA is watching this issue closely.  More details are available here. _______________________ The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development has released risk-adjusted mortality rates and quality indicators for California hospitals for 2006 and 2007.  These data may serve as a guide to the quality of inpatient care at individual hospitals.  These tables may be downloaded from our website: Table of Mortality Rates and Quality Indicators - 2007. Table of Mortality Rates and Quality Indicators - 2006. _______________________ The FDA has warned consumers not to eat prepared food products containing peanut butter or peanut paste according to a January 17, 2009 MSNBC report.  Products containing these ingredients have been linked to a recent outbreak of salmonella infections.  The problem has been traced back to a supplier of bulk peanut products to food manufacturers.  Salmonella infections can be deadly for infants, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. At this time there have been no cases linked to peanut butter sold in jars. _______________________ A January 13, 2209 story in the Los Angeles Times reports that Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing to cut the Cal Grant Program by some $87 million.  Cal Grants are a primary source of financial aid to low-income students.  This cut, if enacted, would come at the same time that the CSU and UC systems plan to raise student fees (tuition) by 10%. _______________________ According to a January 11, 2009 article in the Sacramento Bee, the California Department of Managed Health Care is investigating allegations that the Kaiser-Permanente HMO in northern California is using non-medical personnel to staff three call centers.  The call centers screen patients who are seeking appointments with their doctors. A Kaiser nurse complained that non-medical personnel using pre-written scripts to determine the seriousness of a patient's problem may delay care in life-threatening situations.  According to the story, Kaiser-Permanente has refused to turn over the scripts to the Department of Managed Health Care. _______________________ The California Faculty Association has released a report by Thomas G. Mortenson who is a senior scholar with the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education that shows that California's investment in higher education has fallen some 40% over the past three decades. According to a January 7 2009 story in the Long Beach Press-Telegram about the report, California has dropped from 11th in the nation to 22nd in its investment in higher education.  "California ranked 49th in the country for its number of adults with at least a high school diploma, 46th for the number of 19-year-olds enrolled in college and 31st for college enrollment among students in low-income families." The entire report can be downloaded from our website. _______________________ According to an article in Calpensions (1/7/09) Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing to pre-fund retiree healthcare benefits by using savings generated by offering lower cost health care plans to active state employees. _______________________

CSU-ERFA is providing a new "News Box" feature for use by webmasters who wish to alert their readers to recent news of interest to retirees.  The news box, shown below, includes links to the latest items on our News and Views Page. The Los Angeles Times reported in its January 4, 2009 issue that the insurance industry is attempting to lower the amount of money that life insurers are required to set aside to pay future claims.  Nine proposed rule changes would lower total reserves by about $25 billion (about 7% of industry net worth.)  The American Council of Life Insurance has asked for these changes in the accounting standards required by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners because of declines in the value of stocks and bonds held by the companies over the past year. These proposals are being opposed by consumer groups, because they could increase the risk that companies might not be able meet future liabilities.  Also, lowering reserve requirements could mask the financial status of companies that are insolvent under current requirements. _______________________ The Sacramento Bee reports in its January 1, 2009 issue that Governor Schwarzenegger is proposing that the state take over responsibility for contracting for health care services for 560,000 active state workers.  Currently, the state contracts with CalPERS to provide health care benefits to state workers.  According to the governor, the shift could reduce costs by $132 million. CalPERS would still manage health care benefits for retirees and for employees of contract agencies.  However with 560,000 fewer recipients, the retirement system would have significantly less leverage to negotiate low rates with various providers. _______________________